Professional Certificate in English Language

Please note:

this course is not available in 2020.The Professional Certificate in English Language is designed for primary and secondary school teachers of English who wish to develop their pedagogical content knowledge and/or take a leading role in English Language teaching in their school.

The Certificate has two streams, one designed for F-10 English teachers based on the National and Victorian Curriculum, and one specifically tailored to teachers of VCE English Language in the Victorian education system.

The course will focus on the pedagogical content knowledge from the disciplines of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics required to teach English Language within these curricula.

The Certificate comprises two subjects:

The Grammar of English, and English in Social Interaction, offered one each semester during the year.

Course delivery is via a ‘blended learning’ approach with a mixture of online and intensive on-campus teaching modes, and includes extensive resources such as highlight video interviews with prominent experts in the field speaking about particular topics.

Online communities will support collaboration between participants throughout the course, and the face-to-face intensives will be taught by staff in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics together with practicing English teachers.

Links will be made between the requirements of the F-10 and VCE English Language curricula, classroom practice and teaching resources, and current Linguistic and Applied Linguistic research and scholarship on the grammar, discourse properties, and sociolinguistics of the English Language.

Course structure

Duration: 12 months part-time

Program Requirements -

• Two compulsory subjects (25 points)

Total 25 points

Entry requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:

• an undergraduate degree and have completed or be enrolled in a graduate teaching qualification, or equivalent, or
• a four-year teaching degree, or equivalent.

Meeting this requirement does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

• prior academic performance, and
• relevant professional experience

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. Applications are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for graduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

Students will be required to complete two compulsory 12.5 credit point subjects, which involve participation in face-to-face intensives and online learning.

The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005) and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF127). For the purposes of considering requests for reasonable adjustments, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the overview, attributes, outcomes and skills of this entry. Further details about how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

Intended learning outcomes

Students who complete the Professional Certificate in English Language should have:

• developed an advanced understanding of the content knowledge from Linguistics and Applied Linguistics required to teach the English Language components of the F-10 or VCE English Language curricula;
• acquired a comprehensive understanding of and ability to use the metalanguage and terminology needed to effectively teach the F-10 or VCE English Language curricula;
• built on their existing knowledge to gain additional expertise in the analysis of texts and identification of specific types of grammatical and discourse phenomena;
• be able to critically evaluate English Language teaching resources in the light of evidence from research and scholarship; and
• develop their skills in construction and preparation of classroom materials for the teaching of English Language.